How to Have Friends

March 1, 2022
Advice for making, keeping, and being a good friend. In this picture book, children are shown in different friendship situations, some fun and playful, others involving struggles or complicated feelings. For each scenario, Macdonald gives some good advice: "If you want someone to be your friend, listen to them," she writes, and "pay attention. Feelings are important." However, aside from the reminder that "friends stand by you too" (the accompanying illustration shows one boy helping another search for his lost backpack), almost all of the lessons in the book revolve around putting yourself second. There are no examples of going to a friend with your emotional needs, for instance. The give-and-take nature of friendships is underrepresented. While, overall, the book might explain ways to be a supportive friend, it doesn't present the complete picture of how to have friends. Wojciechowski's full-color digital illustrations feature children with expressive faces and different skin tones, hair types, and eye colors and include a child using a wheelchair. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A mostly one-sided how-to guide on friendship. (Picture book. 4-6)

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April 22, 2022

PreS-Gr 2-Sure, "Everything is better with friends," but sometimes it's hard to know how to be a good friend. This engaging picture book offers numerous tidbits of advice about how to be a respectful, compassionate, and generous friend. Each suggestion is couched within a distinct scenario, and the specificity of these contribute to the book's charm. Being supportive means helping a friend search for a missing backpack; patience is listening to a friend "tell a long, LONG story;" empathy is refraining from telling your friend you got a gold star when they forgot their homework. The effectiveness of each situation is in its relatability to kids' lives. Most kids can probably imagine at least some of these events happening to them, and that accessibility increases the odds of empathetic responses. The language is appropriate to the way kids would describe these situations: "If a friend beats you at tic-tac-toe, you might feel like making a mean face at her. But if you want to keep your friend, just say, 'Good game.'" Digital illustrations filled with emotive faces and a soft color palette portray a diverse group of children with a wide variety of skin, hair, and eye colors; one girl using a wheelchair. VERDICT This winsome picture book offers a wealth of lessons and could be effectively used in discussions about kindness and community.-Elizabeth Lovsin

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